IMHO if governments want to meet their Paris Accord targets they should be focusing subsidies on getting the price of hybrids down to the level of the same model as a non-hybrid.
Reduces emissions in traffic and lights and helps build out charging infrastructure with plug-ins without an "over" reliance on stations.
Certainly also encourage BEVs, but I think an easy-is stepping stone is a needed given climate change.
Hybrids are the reason CO2 emissions increased in EU. EU offered so much incentives in the last years that companies bought them, but never charge them. They emit 400% of the CO2 quota that was allocated for the cars, it's the new type of diesel cheating that car companies use. I'm not against hybrids of course, just against giving incentives to buy them.
Hybrids are no win at all. They would have been a great idea, of more companies had followed the lead of Toyota, which is selling the Prius since 1998. At best, hybrids reduce the CO2 produces somewhat. But many hybrids are designed for pure compliance, not saving CO2 in real world usage.
But in any case, we don't need to reduce the CO2 produced by cars, we need to eliminate it entirely.
Society needs to get CO2-neutral urgently, and cars are actually the low hanging fruit as perfectly nice electric cars are already being sold. In contrast, we have very little ideas what to do about flying for example, except use precious bio or synthetic fuels.
hybrids were always a stop-gap technology on the path to full electric. With the price of batteries dropping so rapidly, hybrids make less and less sense.
I'll wager no manufacturer will be making them in a couple of years.
Hybrids are mechanically more complex than either an all ICE or an all electric car, so that's not ideal.
On the other hand, they have better range than either, generally, and keep the quick fillup time of an ICE, with optional short trip charging depending on equipment. Additionally range is good at slow speeds where electric wins, and at high speeds where ICE wins.
When the battery placement isn't criminally stupid (like c-max energi that guts the rear storage), the end result is a best of both situation.
IMHO if governments want to meet their Paris Accord targets they should be focusing subsidies on getting the price of hybrids down to the level of the same model as a non-hybrid.
Reduces emissions in traffic and lights and helps build out charging infrastructure with plug-ins without an "over" reliance on stations.
Certainly also encourage BEVs, but I think an easy-is stepping stone is a needed given climate change.